Posts Tagged ‘Xbox Live’

Aside: Major Nelson Messaged Me, Microsoft Gained Ashley Kudos

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Following on from my blog post regarding a possible age filter for Xbox Live, Major Nelson contacted me via Xbox Live to say he was sharing the post with his team. Dave Moran mentioned in the comments that Microsoft has a massive team working on this kind of thing, and it looks like he was bang on. Major Nelson also said to get in touch with him if I had any more feedback/comments regarding Xbox Live.

You know, for all the cursing I do about Microsoft, I think it’s fantastic they’re willing to communicate with their audience to improve the overall Xbox experience in such an effective way. It’s reassuring to know they’re listening to what those of us who spend a chunk of our time playing Xbox have to say. Microsoft, you’ve earned some kudos with me. The next time my 360 freezes on me - which will probably be tonight - I’ll think twice before condemning you.

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Posted in Asides | 5 Comments »

I Wish Xbox Live Had An Age Filter

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

I’ve been a member of Xbox Live for over two years, and within that time I’ve ventured ever-so-apprehensively into the murky waters of multiplayer on numerous occasions, namely with Rainbow Six: Vegas. I’ve been fortunate enough to have not had too many bad experiences. The occasional name calling (an Irish guy who referred to me as a “fucking clown”), a potentially nasty experience from playing a camera-based Aracde game (a presumptuous pervert who thought my sole intention of playing UNO was to see his “arrrd cock”), and being excluded from games because I have a vagina (me speaking up in the lobby, which lead to all-round cries of “It’s a girl!” *you have been kicked from the server*).

In fact, I would consider myself to be fairly lucky with how smooth my online experience has been. However, I’ve got to the stage where I wish there was an age filter on Xbox Live; something that would enable me control over what age groups I’m playing with. Because, for whatever reason, out of all the idiots I’ve encountered online, the ones I seem to be least tolerant of are the pre-pubescent kids who take the whole online competitive nature far too seriously.

A couple of days ago, after cleaning up all the single player Achievements in Skate 2 (bar the DLC ones), I decided to take my created skater, Candy, online for a bit of a Jam session. The Jam sessions basically involve 3 rounds, and whoever racks up the most points from pulling off tricks wins. Simple.

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Posted in Rants, Xbox Live | 20 Comments »

Operation: Anchorage Is Just Like Tom Cruise

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Short.

When I Tweeted (or Twittered, whatever the technical term is) that I was playing the new Fallout 3 downloadable content, Operation: Anchorage, quite a few people @ replied me asking if it was any good. If you were one of those people who asked and are pissed I never replied, well that was simply because I had just started playing, and was wishing to reserve my opinion until I had actually finished it. Which I now have. And it really didn’t take long. The gist of it is, yes, it’s good - heck, it’s Fallout 3 - but I’m not so sure it’s worth what it’s being charged at.

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Posted in General Gaming, Xbox Live | 7 Comments »

My/Microsoft’s Video Marketplace Blunder

Monday, January 5th, 2009

I raved about Microsoft’s Video Marketplace on the Xbox 360 several months ago when I popped my cherry with The Nanny Diaries.

Two nights ago I had a group of friends visiting, all of us in the mood for a few scares (watching The Descent the previous night should have put me off). With the closest Blockbuster having recently been closed down, probably due to this inconvenient recession we’re finding ourselves in, Video Marketplace was my only option for anything outside of my own DVD collection.

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Posted in Rants, Xbox Live | 7 Comments »

My Inevitable Thoughts On NXE

Monday, November 24th, 2008

November 19th: It seemed everyone on Twitter had something to say about the impending New Xbox Experience, so much so that even I was itching to download the Dashboard update. Most people seemed to generally like the overhaul, but the buzz was all about the Avatars. I’d made my feelings on Avatars pretty clear, jumping to the conclusion I’d hate them, therefore NXE, months before it even hit. I’m not normally one to condemn something before I’ve even had a taster; it just seems wrong. But unfortunately my doubt has been somewhat founded, and that stems way beyond the Avatars.

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Posted in Rants, Xbox Live | 8 Comments »

Video Marketplace Virgin No More

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace has been available in the UK for roughly 6 months now, making its grand appearance back in December of last year. It really feels that the service has yet to take Xbox LIVE by storm, but this observation is merely down to the fact none of my Xbox-owning friends have shown much interest in it. With every intention of letting Video Marketplace into my heart, it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for me to finally give the service a whirl.

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Posted in Xbox Live | 6 Comments »